


Perceptions

by Kiwibirdlafayette



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Awareness of other timelines, Crossing Timelines, For the Glory of Fandom, Gen, It gets a little weird, Roleswap, Species Swap, Trollhunters Writing Contest, reality-altering, some descriptions of mental pain, was it a dream?? maybe you’ll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-13 07:51:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13566111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiwibirdlafayette/pseuds/Kiwibirdlafayette
Summary: Take a look at what’s before you. Think about what you see, let your mind wander- and suddenly you’re there.A mission to help Draal understand his enemy. The discovery of an ancient, unreadable text. A changeling from the beginning of time. When Jim and Blinky agreed to Barbara’s request to take to the hills in search of answers to the defeat of Gunmar, the last thing they had expected was to happen was to learn that things aren’t always what they appear to be. They never are what they appear to be.(Roleswap verse, takes place around the same time as the Gatto episode in the AU timeline and canon)





	1. Observation/Examination

_Take a look at what’s before you._

Somewhere in the woodland hills of California, the sun slowly fell down towards the horizon turning the sky hues of purple and orange. A small blue car is seen cruising down the road with groves of hallowed trees lining its sides. The road itself seemed to be barren of any life, save for the occasional bird, its song trilling, a brief addition to the sound of silence and the low hum of the engine.

The chilled mountain breeze carried the fresh scent of aged oaks to every square inch of the valley. Blinky, sitting in the driver’s seat briefly glanced back at the changeling troll sitting behind him as the road hit a straightaway. 

“It won’t be long now.”

Jim nodded and stared out the backseat window of Blinky’s car, a weathered old tome in his lap. This was the first time he had been out of Arcadia Oaks in a long time, and to an extent, he did not like it too much. 

Upon discovering that cryptic Gumm Gumm historical anthology in NotDictatious’s belongings, his mother, Blinky and Claire had become obsessed with figuring out exactly what contents lie within. Barbara decided that since none of the three of them spoke an ounce of GummGumm dialect, the only option would be to locate the changeling Aeledar, one of the few remaining veterans of the war who still could speak the language proficiently.

Knowing his mom, she wouldn’t want to leave the safety and comfort of Trollmarket. Claire had opted to accompany Draal and the others on his quest to locate the first Triumbric stone in Argentina. This left Jim to accompany Blinky into the mountainous ranges of America’s western coast. 

Jim, in trying to be as discreet as possible while in the human world, half transformed himself- the most he could do- and covered the remaining troll features with a “tablecloth” he had obtained from Toby’s human objects collection. In retrospect his antler-like horns, which prodded out from the cloth, nearly piercing it, could’ve been hidden a lot better. 

Blinky turned off onto a side road and drove a little, slowing as the brush became thicker and thicker, so much as that it was becoming difficult to see. He pulled off to the side and turned off the engine. He peered at his phone, listing a series of directions Barbara had relayed to them. “Do you remember exactly where we were supposed to go from here?”

Jim shrugged. “Not really. I’ve only visited him once, but that was with my father years ago.” He popped open the door and got out to take a look around, the book tucked under his arm. “We’re _definitely_ going to have to walk from here though. Is your automobile going to be ok here?”

Blinky rolled his window up and stepped out of the car. “It should be. Doesn’t seem like there’s anyone around anyways.” He took another look at his phone and pointed east. “This way I’m guessing?” When Jim nodded, he grabbed his coat out from the car and put it on, then locked the car. “Shall we?”

The two slowly made their way into the dense forest, the only source of strong light aside from the dim moon being the flashlight from Blinky’s phone, and the pale yellow glow of Jim’s eyes. 

Jim tried his best to stay in front of his smaller human friend as to make sure there were no dangers laying in the blackened void of forest beyond them. The apprehension saturating the air kept him on his toes. After several stress-filled moments, he had reverted back to his full troll form.

As they continued to travel along the trail, Blinky began to grow suspicious about their surroundings. It wasn’t just the void-like darkness that surrounded them, nor the eerie silence. He felt his chest tighten as this thought started to emcompass all of this mind. “Jim. Master Jim.”

Jim turned around, his attention having been previously been affixed on the approaching grove. “Yeah?”

“Something is up with this forest, and it isn’t just the incredulous silence and our obscured vision.” When Jim gave him a befuddled look, he pointed at the ground with his phone light. “From what Barbara had told us, this isn’t a place frequently travelled. Yet, before us is a perfectly made pathway, something which could only have come into existence had it been well trodden. Unless..” Blinky took a few more strides ahead, and he almost seemed to disappear into the darkness. The sound of vegetation they had gotten used to hearing seemed to vanish. Blinky hadn’t gone far, but his voice seemed nearly distant when he called out.

“Over here!”

Jim took several long strides to catch up to Blinky who was standing by a weathered wooden sign at the opening of a clearing. The trees appeared to have been placed one by one in the manner which they had appeared, as the balanced growth seemed almost unnatural. On the sign, a series of ancient text was inscribed in either troll or human onto the decomposing wood. The scribes handwriting was incredibly crude, rendering it illegible to them both. “I think we’re getting close.”

Jim gave Blinky another confused look. “What makes you say that?”

Blinky shrugged. “A hunch. Doesn’t this sign appear trollish to you?”

Jim rolled his eyes. “Well, trolls don’t usually put signs by their homes-”

“Well, some might. Tobias has one by his cave”. Blinky glanced around and chose the most defined path to continue walking down.

Jim guffawed as he continued walking to catch up with Blinky. “No he does not! And besides, Aeledar’s a _changeling_.” 

“And the difference is…? Arthur and I gave him that sign and I know he’s been using it.” Blinky turned around so that he was walking backwards and facing Jim, a small smirk on his face.

Jim crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow before coming to the realization and rolling his eyes upon remembering the unicorn sign emblazon on the side of Toby’s corner. “Oh, right, that one. Never mind.”

As the two continued walking, the air continued to weigh down upon them. Blinky, having a rousing discussion with Jim about how no, _humans do not all have the ability to consume every edible thing in existence_ noticed this first. He felt his chest tighten and his skin start to crawl. 

“So some humans eat this ‘jalapeno’, but others cannot, due to intolerance?”

“Essentially yes, but- ” Blinky felt the air getting caught in his throat and paused. He wheezed for a second before stopping dead in his tracks. “Is it getting harder to breathe, or am I just imagining it?”

Jim’s vision blurred for a split second, his shoulders tensing again. The feather-like blade lining his shoulders, previously bent over became heightened. “No, there's definitely something wrong with this place.” He took a look at their surroundings. In his conversation, he had lost track of the direction they were travelling. “This place doesn’t look familiar at all. How long have we been walking?”

Blinky took his phone out of his pocket to check the time. “Umm.. I want to say a couple hours or so.. But I’m unsure.” He took another glance at the notes. “I suggest we keep going. Who knows what things lurk out here-” 

Before Jim could reply, the booming sound of a slamming door echoed through the trees. At that very second, both Jim and Blinky had the very same thought at the very same time. 

The two immediately ran as quickly as they could in the general direction of the sound. Jim was able to make great strides across the barren forested ground, while Blinky lagged behind. 

“Wait up Jim!” Blinky called out while nearly tripping over a tree root prodding out into the barren pathway. Jim started to stray off the marked path they had previously been travelling in favor of getting there quicker, but at the expense of Blinky being unable to keep up. 

“I see a light! Right over here!” 

Jim paused at the edge of a line of trees just as Blinky came stumbling behind him. “There.” He pointed to the faint orange glow sitting in the middle of the clearing. 

Blinky looked up as he was catching his breath. He spoke through heaved breaths. “Is.. Is that his house?”

“Let's hope so.. Do you need a minute Blink?”

Blinky shook his head. “I should be ok.” He made his way out of the trees. The air did not seem to lighten, and continued to feel as if gravity was slowly pushing at him from all sides. He looked to Jim, who didn’t seem to be feeling the effects to the same degree, as he walked as if nothing was wrong. He looked back ahead to the structure that seemed to be coming into fruition. “Do you think he’ll actually have the answers we desire?”

“We’d better hope so. Otherwise, all of that walking would have been for nothing.” Jim approached the building with hesitation once they reached the middle of the clearing. 

The building itself was quite rustic in its design, being comprised solely of moss-covered bricks, held together by a crude form of cement. The roof was built of fronds from a long gone tree, and the wooden door falling apart from age. 

Jim walked up to the door, exquisitely decorated in feathers and jewelry of all sorts. There was a stagnant ethereal air to the atmosphere surrounding the house. He turned to Blinky, before hesitantly knocking on the door. Not to their surprise, the door collapsed on them leaving a pile of rubble. A raspy voice spoke. 

“If you seek answers, enter.”

The two looked at each other nodded, then stepped into the home. 

To their surprise, the inside starkly contrasted the dull exterior. Intricately fabricated artifacts adorned the walls and shelves of the hut. Glimmering crystalline jewelry hung from the ceiling, gleaming from the light of the fire. In the very center, sat a hunched over troll on a mossy log. Their wispy lavender hair draped over his charcoal colored stone body, falling to the ground. Their incandescent green eyes illuminated their horns, which looked as if they had been hacked at by multiple weapons, and their teeth lacked any edge they previously had. 

Jim, holding the book in one hand, held it out to the troll. “We’re here to ask you about-”

They held up a finger. “Wait.”

They slowly stood up, and made their way over to Blinky and Jim, and raised an eyebrow. They spoke with a raspy, yet calming voice. “A fleshbag, and a troll. Intriguing..” They put a withered finger to both their foreheads, then walked back to their log. 

Blinky, after the initial shock wore off of being touched by thousand year old stone, took the book and started to walk towards the troll. “As my friend here was saying, we-”

“I know what you want.” They sat back down. “I am Aeledar, and I can give you what you seek.” They pointed at the book. “That is what you want?”

Blinky nodded. “Correct- so, the key to Gunmar’s defeat lies in here, right?” He opened the book to a page bearing a set of stones.

Aeledar only blinked back at him. “If that is what you believe then yes.” He turned to take hold of a sapphire the size of his hand, facted in the most precise manner. The lack of imperfections on its surface made it appear almost unnatural- even the most well-versed mineralist would be perplexed by its nonpareil azul appearance. “But, if you want these answers, You must first open your eyes.”

Jim and Blinky looked at one another, eyebrows furrowed. Surely Aeledar could see both their eyes were very much open. But, before either one of them could respond to this baffling request, the sky seemed to open up like the shell of an oyster above them, the artifacts on the wall emitting an eerie blue light, engulfing the two in something, yet nothing at all. 

The clock hit 9 o’clock, the bells of the hour tolling throughout the hollow. Everything became encompassed in a fathomless void of darkness and yet, Jim and Blinky did not feel their eyes open, nor close. Both tried to reach out to each other, didn’t get the chance before their minds closed itself off, numbing their senses.

Without warning, the floor became blanketed in ash.


	2. Conceptualization/Tangents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall just here to say that this chapter has a lot of descriptions of mental and physical pain that come as a result of being affected by the events of the past chapter  
> If multiverse theory/being outside of reality freaks you out, please take caution. I love yall and want you all to be safe

_ Think about everything you see, let your mind wander. _

Blinky shut his eyes, coughing and feeling the graininess of the sand-like ash across his hands and arms. He felt his breath get caught in the back of his throat, rendering him unable to speak.  _ Where did all this ash come from? _ Blinky slowly opened his eyes as he fanned away the ash floating through the air, scanning for Jim.

As the remainder of the ash settled on the floor and atop his clothing, Blinky was able to better take in his surroundings. From what he could tell, it appeared as if he was in a very rudimentary version of Claire’s library. Yet, there was an air of homeliness that was far too reminiscent of his own, human sized, dwelling. 

“That would be most beneficial to our strategy, I believe.”

A voice, sounding all too familiar, filled this unfamiliar cavern of this likely inexplicably, elaborate hallucination. Blinky, not wanting to catch the attention of whatever lurked around the corner ducked under a stone table covered by several pieces of canvas draped over the edge.

Blinky shifted around so that he could see out from a crack between the several layers of materials. At the same moment, three trolls walked in. 

The tallest of the trio spoke in a deep resonating voice, lacking that edge most trolls tended to have in theirs. 

“Yes young Pannoxi, but what I think you are forgetting- is that their armies are not foolish enough to not anticipate such a move.”

The first voice returned, “I beg to differ.”

“What makes you believe that?”

“I have my reasons.”

The silhouette of the taller being passed in front of the opening in the cloth, allowing Blinky to get a better look at the second voice’s appearance.

The troll in question was clad in shimmering silver armor, decorated in a series of intricate designs, glinting a pale green. Their long sangria hair hung right over their shoulders, framing a olive green face glinting with small embellishments of fuschia. Looking a little closer, Blinky could make out the Amulet of Daylight adorned on their chest. Therefore, this must be the trollhunter.

Wait a minute.

Blinky scratched his forehead in confusion. The trollhunter looked nothing like Draal or even Jamefelous, but the fabled, illustrious,  Deya the Deliverer.  _ As in Deya, from the legendary Battle of Killahead Bridge, author of the saga of troll lore.  _

She hadn’t looked anything like that in records, but considering she had been a changeling, it was possible this was her troll form. But the chances were unlikely, seeing as that standing obviously beside her were two other trolls (who’s silhouettes looked exactly one another implying siblings, even twins perhaps)

If Deya was a changeling, there’d be no way trolls were speaking so freely to her, as Claire and Jim both made it very clear to him in Deya’s time, changelings were very much still prejudiced against. _ Unless this was some exception. _

That couldn’t be it, could it? Could it be possible? Had he  _ travelled through time, and this isn’t some impromptu hallucination invoked by the strange blast?  _

The ceiling. Aeledar. The sapphire.  _ Great gronka morka. _

The three trolls resumed their conversation, unfortunately now in only incoherent blabber to Blinky as he’d admit he had been slacking on studying the more complex phrases of trollish. They spoke in such rapid succession to one another that he found it difficult to distinguish one blathering voice from the next. He silently shifted around so he could get a better look at the two companions of the supposed Trollhunter. 

The two younger trolls accompanying Deya reminded him of what Blinky could best describe as a weird combination of Claire and Toby. Much like Claire, they each had a multitude of eyes, specifically, six eyes littering their faces with three on each side of an elongated nose. But, like Toby, in that they had exactly four arms, no more, no less. It was at this moment Blinky wished he had taken his studies on troll taxonomy more seriously in the hopes he could have identified them. 

The younger of the two’s troll, whose stony skin was of a bluer hue than his brother’s pale green, pointed  at something on one of the canvasses (which he now realized were massively sized maps) and spoke something, luckily in English.

The voice that made its way to Blinkous’s ears made it feel as if he were listening to himself speak, causing every last inch of his body to become frozen.

As uncomfortable as it might have made him at times, he knew what his own voice sounded like. That troll sounded exactly like him- diction, pitch and all.  _ There was no way this could . _

The trollhunter, Deya, spoke again. “Blinkous makes an excellent point. However-”

Before she could finish her thought, Blinky, completing ignoring the fact that all three trolls were very much unaware of his presence up until this moment, stuck his head out from under the canvas to get a good look at this supposed other ‘Blinkous’. He looked the other troll dead in the eyes, all while hissing explicatives under his breath. “ _ This was impossible.” _

The attention of the trolls quickly shifted to the human, and this is when Blinky came to realize the consequences of his foolish action.  _ He probably shouldn’t have said that outloud.  _ He slipped out from under the table smiling awkwardly at the three who could only stand there in utter silence.

Blinky slowly made his way to the entrance, tiptoeing towards the opening of the structure. “I.. shall be making my exit now… Farewell.” He waved and dashed out. 

Deya scowled in perturbed fury. “A CHANGELING SPY! CAPTURE HIM!” Her thunderous, voice resounded through the camp. She turned to the two trolls aside her. “Don’t just stand there, do something! We can’t let him get away!” Both Blinky and Dictatious nodded in rapid succession, and dashed out to join the others.

As soon as he made a good distance away from the tent, he found himself surrounded by armies of trolls of all shapes and sizes,  diving and dashing towards him. Blinky, gracious of his smaller size in comparison to most of the trolls, ducked under swooping arms, weaving between them to swiftly be out of arm's reach. The varied growls and screams saturated the area in a thick layer of fury as Blinky dashed for the woods. He never considered himself a runner before, meaning that is was only pure adrenaline giving him enough energy to keep on putting distance between him and the mob.  _ He hoped that all this really was, is a dream and not some obscure adventure into another “reality”. But, nonetheless, he was incredibly fortunate that these trolls were just as slow and lumbering as the ones he’s encountered before. _

Upon making his way into dense forest he slid behind some thick underbrush, the threads of his jacket getting caught on the mass of thorns. He shifted around, balling up and praying that the mob might bypass him in their blind rage. 

Fortunately, that hope was satisfied when the sound of the trolls, clambering around in their armor, paused momentarily before retreating into the distance.

“Well, that was quite close”, he murmured to himself, breathing heavily. He adjusted his position in the bush, pushing wedding ring back down his finger as he waited a few moments to assure that the trolls, were, in fact no longer searching for him. He hesitantly stood up, unhooking the brown material of his jacket from the bushes. While dusting himself off, he caught a glimpse of his troll doppelganger from between the trees, who was now being chided by his greener in hue companion, er, sibling.

Blinky attempted to remain veiled in the black of the shadows, staying away from the beams of moonlight coming through the canopy. Having not considered troll’s heightened night vision, the other Blinky still managed to view him. The troll glanced back at Dictatious returning to camp, before locking gazes for a minute with his odd looking, fleshy counterpart.

The two stood in a momentarily silence before Blinky felt his senses began to escape him once again, all vision and reality escaping his soul like air being released from a vessel. He found himself unable to breathe, with all his muscles in a permanent contraction.

Perplexed by this sudden state of delirium, he stumbled backwards into a second bush before the entirety of the world went dark the moment he blinked, senses losing grip of the all comprehensibility it possessed only moments before. Meanwhile, the Blinky of this timeline was left in a state of perplexity as the figure in the woods disintegrated into nothingness. He reluctantly turned to return to his post, but made sure dedicate that cryptic face to memory, staring back towards the foliage just once more with all six eyes.

 

————————————-

 

Jim, as he would come to conclude, wasn’t prepared at all to take in what he saw when he opened his eyes after the impromptu blackout.

He was but a young troll when the war had come down to its defining hours. He had witnessed Deya, the greatest Trollhunter of all time, in her moment of glory- banishing Gunmar away for what would seem like eternity. He remembered how the sky, previously stained with the apprehension and tension of battle, settled in hues of oranges and pinks as Killahead Bridge sealed like the jaws of a titan, locking the away the threat and bringing about an era of peace.

But seeing as the sky was still dulled in the greys, Jim knew this puzzling dream of his wasn’t taking place during that particular moment of the battle. His mind re-assimilated and grounded itself into the current reality of this dream. Looking around, he was able to determine his setting indicated he wasn’t on the side of the battle he had previously been a soldier of. 

Seeing that his father never told him stories of the GummGumm camps, Jim wasn’t sure how his mind had been able to conceptualize what laid before him. The floor, blackened with scathed volcanic rock, was littered with countless skulls resembling both human and troll, alongside crumpled sheets of paper, stained with illegible ink writing. Veins of opalescent blues traced elaborate patterns into the ground, most likely proving a source of illumination to whomever resided here. 

Jim, not anticipating the dizziness, tried to stand back up, only to find himself quickly losing balance, falling headlong into a stack of papers and ink jars, scattering pages of writing across the floor, and adding to the already present chaos. “Curses-”  _ He hoped the owner of this dwelling wouldn’t be too upset.  _

He regained his equilibrium, intending to repair the mess he made once he stood back up. However, in the brief moments of him getting back on his feet, he could hear the ominous echoes of voices coming around the corner of this hallowed mountain dwelling. From the other side, the grunts and growls of what could only be an army of GummGumm echoed into the room. 

Jim felt his heart start to race as he sensed the two figures neared the opening of the room. It was moments like this these he had wished he had paid more attention to Claire and Blinky’s endless ramblings about effective ways of rationalizing a situation.  _ All he knew is that no matter which exit he took, he would be caught.  _ Before Jim could make that split second decision, the distinct spoken lisp of an all too familiar changeling caught his ear.

NotDictatious, or, Elturos, with numerous stacks of papers tucked under his arm came striding into the spacious cavern with Stricklander in tow. From the looks of fatigue upon the General’s face, Jim figured Elturos had been showing the Changeling general his written works for the past hour or more.

As he spoke to Stricklander, Elturos desperately tried not to drop the pile of work he had spent copious amounts of time re-organizing and stacking from falling over his arms. It was moments like these he wished his Pannoxi father passed on that distinct trait of multiple limbs of their tribe. “You can assure our Dark Lord, everything will be in order once I finish this last volume. Once this anthology makes it to hands of troll kind, this war will cease to exist as they will understand why our beliefs are the true reflection of who we are as a race.”

Jim paniced, running himself in circles around the room as frantically as possible, until he was finally ran around a corner and pressed himself up against a wall. He hoped the heavy shadows cast by the shelves, each creating streaks of black seemingly strewn about the room, made any possible glimpse of him completely impossible. 

Stricklander sneered at Elturos. “I’ll assure Gunmar of that when I have actual proof. Troll history is still being  _ tainted _ as Deya continues to write her gruesome recollections of the war so far.”

“I am very much aware, but as I’ve already stated, you blithering, incompetent piece of trash, I am not exactly the quickest writer-”

Stricklander grabs Elturos by the scruff on his neck viciously, eyes glowing a deep ochre with furious impatience. “Well, you’d better become that soon. Both he and I will not tolerate  _ your incompetence _ much longer.” He spat at the smaller changeling. “The longer we wait, the less credible our perspective will be to the masses.” 

Elturos gulped, and nearly made eye contact with Jim as he frantically glanced around the room. Jim, desperately avoiding either of their gazes, felt his silver feathers tense up, scraping up against the wall. 

Strickler spoke between gritted teeth and fangs. “I’ve seen your absurd exaggerations. The entire point of this anthology is to tell the story as it is, down to every, last detail.” His grip on Elturos’s neck constricted further. “The importance of educating troll-kind about the reasons behind our need for salvation is to a degree that even your ‘enlightened’ mind would ever be able to fathom.”

“I highly doubt that.” Elturos struggled in Stricklander’s grip, trying to speak between heavy breaths.

Jim, taking advantage of their singular focus on the conversation, bent over momentarily to pick up the first sheet of paper caught in his line of sight. As he leaned back up against the wall, he prayed to Deya that neither of them saw the slightest glimpse of movement in between the exchange of words.

Elturos kicked Stricklander in this lower region, causing him to collapse to the ground. 

“I, more than anyone, understand the importance of ensuring that stories are told as they should be.”

Stricklander looked up at him, a perplexed look upon his face.  _ Weakness was certainly not an emotion Jim ever saw on Strickler very often.  _

Elturos spoke through teeth, his words sounding more like hiss while bitter poison dripped from his jaw. “You may think I’m exaggerating the ‘enlightened’ role, but you know nothing of what it took for me to get where I am now.” He stepped on Stricklander’s cape as he stood up trying to walk off, Elturos’s feet claws causing the estranged general to nearly fall back down. “Behind all this-” he gestured to himself “-all of this facade, is the depth of a changeling no one could ever explain.”

“If  _ anyone  _ ever understood how much of a rich, compelling history I have behind me, I believe certainly wouldn’t be just some lowly archivist for you absolute buffoons.”

Jim, while keeping one focused ear to their conversation, tried his best to utilize his little experience in Dharkal to get the gist of each page he picked up from the floor. Despite the minute amount of the concern that had begun to arise in the back of his mind about Elturos’s obscure motives, his first instinct was to filter out the bickering, and instead reach out out to grab another piece of paper from the multitude which adorned the floor. Once again, it was all rudimentary information he had already heard before, or useless illustrations of trolls he had seen countless times before.

_ What was he supposed to be getting from these pages?. This information was practically useless, or facts he had already known. _

By the time Jim had peeked around the corner again to grab another sheet, Elturos and Stricklander had already gotten into a scuffle, balls of paper flying about the room and being pinned to the wall by knives the lankier changeling pulled from around his neck.

“You ought to be grateful that Gunmar would even consider accepting the help of someone as deceiving as you!”

Elturos hesitantly began flung pots of ink while making nearly futile attempts to the endless stream of metal being expertly thrown in his direction. “We  _ all  _ know that he needs me! There is no one more intellectually fit to serve him! No one-” he grabbed a blade from the wall behind him and flung it back at Stricklander. 

“- _ Absolutely no one  _ more fit to persuade troll kind that we ought to go back to our old ways and rid  _ our world  _ of humankind for all of eternity!”

Jim paused reading for a moment.  _ Had he just heard what he thought he heard? _

He brought himself as close as to the wall as possible, trying to inch closer to the opening, making sure to move slow enough that the scraping of hs metallic feathers against the obsidian wall didn’t produce the slightest sound. 

Elturos spat at Stricklander’s direction, as the changeling turned once again to walk away, disgusted in his co-workers attitude. 

“You, more than anyone knows what a  _ plague _ fleshbags have become to the Earth, something that  _ I _ can help Gunmar in ridding of. It’s only common sense.”

Elturos circled Stricklander, picking up sheets of paper as he walked, stacking them onto a shelf nearby. He hadn’t remembering leaving this space  _ this disorganized,  _ but it wasn’t to a caliber that he’d consider it suspicious. 

“And, if our  _ incredibly bold, and illustrious  _ Gunmar should ever fail, then… well,  _ at least _ there will be someone for the plan to back on.”

Jim gulped. He pressed himself tighter against the wall, sweat dripping down his forehead as his muscles tightened even more.  _ Elturos wasn’t trying to say?- _

Stricklander scoffed. “You’ve got to be insane.”

“I’m being completely serious. I cannot fathom how you can believe Gunmar’s success rate will be at its peak. Have you seen the state of our army?”

Stricklander snarled. “Are you questioning the strength and integrity of our army?!”

“Maybe I am! I’ve already said-”

The general lunged at Elturos, but the changeling, having foresaw this aggression, jumped back, just out of Stricklander’s reach. 

“You are all quite pathetically useless.” He folded his arms over, glaring at Stricklander from atop of stack of what he had finished of the anthology. “If not for my-“

Elturos felt his nose twitch and paused to frantically glance around. There was someone else in the room with them. 

“... do you- Can you?.”

Stricklander got to his feet. “Quit blubbering you incompetent fool. I’ve picked up a scent  _ too. _ ”

Jim knew from the sounds of talons hitting cold obsidian ground, exactly what was about to happen. He wished he had gotten to wish Toby and Claire goodbye. He gripped onto the last sheet of paper he had just picked up as tightly as he possibly could, just  _ begging _ by Deya that maybe he just would just be passed by. 

It was moments like these Jim had wished he had taken more of his mother’s colors rather then the bright blues of his father. 

Stricklander stopped just right around. the corner from Jim, who’s chest had started to tighten. He felt his head start to race with a thousand ways everything was about to go down in the most horrific sense possible. Not only was something else at play, (according to Elturos, but how trustworthy was he?) he was about to be stuck in the past, never to see anyone again.

And Blinky. 

He still hadn’t found Blinky.  _ Where had that historian gone?  _ And even if he did make it back, what was he going to tell the others? Or Arthur? Would Arthur blame him? 

_ He needed a distraction.  _

Before he could even begin to formulate a plan, Jim felt his head begin to pulsate in heavyset waves, as if 4 pairs of hands were pulling at the two lower sets of horns. Holding back any cry of pain, he pulled a blade from his shoulder and shot it across the room, as a last minute attempt just as every aspect of his perception went dark again. 

The featherblade whizzed past Elturos, and Stricklander, had lunged towards the corner in the split second following. But now, he stood as if he had been frozen in time in the center of papers. “Why have you stopped?”

Stricklander turned around, giving Elturos an uncharacteristic blank stare, somehow now unable to speak, his hands cupped around something

Elturos scoffed. “What in the name of Gunmar is wrong with you?” He rolled his eyes, starting to pick the papers up from the ground. “And what the hell’s in your hands?”

Instead of replying, Stricklander snapped out of his trance, only to exclaim in anger. “Blasphemy!”

He spun around to face Elturos, who was panically shuffling through the papers, opening his hands to a thick layer of dust. “Whomever was here is gone now.” Much to his surprise, he found Elturos continuing to perpetually ignore him, electing to instead continue sifting through the stacks of paper at a frantic rate. “What now?”

“Something’s missing.  _ A very important page at that.” _

“Well, it's always a mess in here, how do you expect to find anything?”

“It was one  _ I was just  _ working on before you insisted I attend your pointless meeting. This page has perhaps the  _ most  _ dire information regarding our plans. It  _ cannot _ be lost!”

Strickler rolled his eyes and started scanning the room. “What was on it?”

Elturos held up a finger, before passing him and turning the corner to the area of suspicion, where he believed the scent of the intruder had been only moments before, only to find an empty corridor. 

Stricklander, followed, and walked over to the featherblade, picking it up between two fingers, observing the intricate edges on the metallic object.  _ There was a Crag here.  _ “Well? Do you have any intention on telling me what you’ve misplaced?”

Elturos continued murmuring to himself.  _ He was sure there was someone there. It couldn’t have been just a pile of dust.  _

_ “ _ Well?”

“That page? It contained information on the Perception.”

————————————

Jim reopened his eyes to be greeted by the sight of the Forge. As he dusted himself off, brushing his matted feathers, he glanced around at the weathered stone, scratched and worn down from centuries of training. After what he had just experienced, the sense of familiarity felt like a breath of relief. 

But yet, something was off. The lack of noises filling in from the bustle of Trollmarket left the room in an unsettling silence where he could hear his own heartbeat. An eerie tension filled the air, as if this place had been abandoned for some time. 

For some odd reason, looking up at the grandiose statues of former trollhunters above him, he couldn’t seem to recognize a few of them. Yes, Deya was there, and so was his father’s warrior in arms, Maddrux the Many. But aside Deya was a troll he can’t admit having ever seen before. Wide in stature, the Trollhunter stood, arms crossed over his chest. His horns, sticking out of the were bull like, outstretching before curving upward, much like Jim’s own. And yet, even more apparent was the engraved, circular nose ring, one quite similar to Draal’s, sitting on the center of his face. 

While admiring this courageous looking figure, Jim could sense movement. From the corner of his eye, he could see the suspicious, yet obscure figure, start to come towards him. In the blink of the eye-

“JIM WAIT!”

Jim brought a featherblade to the figure’s throat only to be meet by Blinky’s pleading eyes. “Oh Blinky, thank god.. sorry about that .” He immediately recoiled, followed by Blinky leaning over, collapsing to his knees in relief. “I thought you were someone else.”

“No kidding.” He wheezed, fighting to bring his breathing back to a slow. “Where have you been though? I’ve been worried sick about you.”

“I was about to ask you the same question, because I couldn’t find you either.” 

“After you’ve stabbed me? Because that’s certainly an effective way of relocating me.”

“I  _ said _ I’m sorry. I’m a little on edge right now.”

“As am I.” Blinky got back onto his feet. “Well, regardless, it's  _ obvious _ that whatever happened to us wasn’t decisions made of our own volition.” He looked around. “I’m assuming whatever it was had to do with that god awful gem Aeledar pulled out.” He dusted the remnants of ash from his shirt. “Have you just arrived?”

“Yeah, I’m sure of that. What about you?”

Blinky pulled his phone out from his pocket. He would have admitted he had forgotten it was in there until recently. “I have reason to believe I’ve arrived.. at least a couple hours ago. I have not dared to step outside, but I have a feeling we still have not returned home yet.”

Jim nodded, gesturing with his head towards the perplexing Trollhunter placed next to Deya. “Agreed. But how are we supposed to get back?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure. It appears these,  _ jumps _ , per say happen of random. And I most certainly don’t know what  _ on us  _ is driving that.” Blinky fidgeted with his ring. “If it's some kind of curse put upon us, I do believe it’d be best if we hastily find a way to remove it.”

Jim bit his lip. “From our bodies?”

“Assumingly so, yes.”

“But, how?”

“I just said Jim, that’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

Jim traced the spiral carving on his chin with a finger in thought.  _ Maybe on his own, Blinky couldn’t come to a solution. But put their heads together, and they technically should be able.  _

He and Blinky exchanged glances, giving each other an increasingly puzzled look. After standing there in utter, thoughtful silence for approximately 30 seconds, Jim could tell they had the exact same idea at precisely the same time. 

 

“Claire’s Library.”

“Claire’s Library.”

Leaving the seemingly desolate training arena behind, Blinky and Jim exited out into the streets of Trollmarket. Much to Jim’s surprise, the liveliness returned with a diverse crowd of trolls surrounding them on all sides. Merchants placed and hung their goods from polychromatic awnings, held up by poles of every material imaginable. Thinking quickly, Blinky quickly swiped a battered old beige cloth from an ownerless stand, draping it over himself.  _ Completely precautionary of course, considering his last encounter with trolls other than Jim that day. _

As soon as they could, the two hastily slipped in between a clump of larger standing trolls in order to blend in better as they made their way towards the dwelling Jim had so often called home. Or, at least the place that would be considered his home if they weren’t in some kind of different.. well,  _ timeline _ . 

Walking amongst the trolls had them moving at quite a lethargic pace, but Blinky insisted that rushing would only draw attention to them, which they were currently trying to avoid. Jim leaned over, lifting Blinky’s cloth ever so slightly. “You think she’s gonna be in there?”

“If she exists in this place, then I can’t imagine where else she’d be.”

Upon seeing the distinct sign poking out from violet colored granite, Jim gestured to Blinky, taking his hand as they slyly snuck out and into the stairwell leading downwards. Attempting to remain stealthy, the two tiptoed down the short flight of stairs pressing their backs against the wall.

From within the library, a faint orange glow could be seen, illuminating the sandstone walls in a deep yellow light. On the far side wall, Blinky could spot at least four to five shadows, indicating to him that there were beings inside. Before Jim could step out into the main area, he was suddenly pulled back by Blinky, who hushed at him sharply through his teeth. 

“Hey! What was that for?”

“I cannot let you go out Jim. There are trolls in their other than our friends.”

“How can you tell?”

Blinky gestured to the shadows on the wall. He held up a finger to Jim as he inched closer to the corner of the wall, allowing him to somewhat hear the faint dialogue occurring between these figures. They spoke in rapid succession, and for some bewildering reason, these voices sounded all too familiar. 

_ “So this Gatto has the stone that will help us get Enrique back?” _ _  
_

_ “This sounds like a quest!” _

Jim brought his head closer to Blinky’s, whispering. “What are they saying?” 

Blinky peered, turning back to Jim following the sound of a considerably sized book slamming shut. “It sounds like I hear us, specifically, us discussing the impromptu trip to Argentina the other took this morning.”

Jim peered. “So we’ve travelled back in time?”

“Perhaps.. But something still doesn’t-”

Before he could finish his sentence the sound of three pairs of feet walking began moving towards them.  _ After the first time, they couldn’t get caught again.  _ Taking action swiftly, Jim forced himself to shift halfway into his hybrid form, and slipped under the cloth with Blinky as two of the footsteps started to make their way up the stairs, so involved in their conversation that they luckily had not noticed the cloth pressed up against the wall, draping down over two oddly shaped figures.

While he could not have seen their faces, Blinky could’ve sworn the two voices exchanging excitement was Toby and Claire. A brief glance at Jim’s puzzled expression would indicate to him that he had been thinking the same thing.

As the third person approached the stairs, a voice called him back, prompting him to stop just right around the corner.  _ “Master Jim- a moment?” _

Blinky and Jim turned to face each other, knowing that this one sentence has confirmed likely countless theories, about the existence of a multiverse, as well as an affirmation to earlier hunches. 

And by some odd chance, _they_ _are the ones experiencing it._ Blinky’s eyes glimmered in curious wonder as reached out to take a peek, with the footsteps all having to have receded. Jim hadn’t thought to stop him, as he too was too deeply intrigued in this new development to listen to reason. 

Upon peeking his head out from under the sandy colored cloth, Blinky’s eyes were met by the same troll he had seen the last time he had woken up, just a little older. Standing to next to this ‘Other Blinky’, and being talked to was a high school aged boy, wearing a blue sweater with the sleeves rolled up, and holding the Amulet of Daylight. The boy, catching a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye interrupts the troll to turn his head towards the stairwell, where Blinky has just recoiled back under the sheet.  _ Almost blew it again, goddammit Blinkous. _

Blinky relaxed his shoulders, accepting they likely weren’t headed this way anytime soon. “Jim.. It’s us out there. I quite frankly don’t understand.” He pulled his phone out to check the time. For some reason, when it turned off, he couldn’t see his reflection on the darkened glass. 

Jim pulled several blades out of his shoulders, using it to pin the backsides of the cloth to the wall so that they looked more like a bulge on the wall rather than a covered statue. “So… what do we do now?”

“I’m unsure. Although, there might be a way we can bypass our alternate dimension counterparts and make it into the main area, where, I'm assuming will be possible-”

Before he could finish, a large rocky hand hit him square on the face through the cloth, knocking him against the wall, followed by expressions of confusion from the exterior. As Blinky tried to regain his composure, Jim fought to hold up the cloth, now being pulled down by four sets of hands. 

“ _ What is it Blinky? Why is it moving? _ ”

“ _ I’m unclear Master Jim, I don’t recall ever hanging something here- _ ”

With one final pull, Jim’s strength gave out, allowing the troll Blinky to completely remove the sheet from them. In that split second that Blinky turned around, both pairs found themselves face to face with their counterparts, rendered completely motionless as billions of thoughts raced through their minds in trying to comprehend their current situation. Accusatory-like glances were exchanged back and forth, when finally Jim decided to break the silence.

“Listen, I can explain-”

The young boy, presumably ‘Master Jim’ shook his head back and forth; flailing swiping his arms back and forth as if trying to chase Jim away. “ _ What is there to explain? Are you.. What are you doing here? I don’t- _ ”

The troll Blinky nodded, going up to Blinky, curiously giving him a lookover. “ _ It really is quite peculiar, although, how this came into fruition is currently beyond me.” _ His troll counterpart walked around him, lifting arms and likely taking mental notes. “ _ The appearance of our alternate selves is in itself a very,  _ _ very  _ _ uncommon phenomena, and the possibility of it happening in the first place-” _

“-Seems impossible. I’m aware.” As the two Jims began engaging in conversation, Blinky backed up a bit from the other three. “Pardon me, but as fascinating as this is, and as much as I appreciate the implications of this encounter, my friend andI.. I think must be on our way.”

“ _ Oh, already? But we’ve only just met. _ ”

He nods. “I’ve got the sinking feeling this event isn’t supposed to ever occur.”

Human Jim paused and turned towards Blinky. “ _ You mean like timeline crossing? _ ”

Blinky nods. “Previous research I’ve perused states that-.” a sudden rush of energy pulsated through his head, sending his body into a stutter, sending the others up and down the stairwell. Blinky collapsed, feeling as if he entire being was losing structural intergrity, causing Jim to rush back over, his own legs giving out on him as he made it to Blinky. “What’s happening?”

Blinky pressed his hands against his temples in an attempt to stop the high frequency ringing that now filled his ears. “I’m unsure, I think some kind of collapse is happening-” He opened one eye to see the world before them slowly opening up into a void-like blackness. Jim fought to stay standing as their counterparts reapproached them, this time appearing all static-like. 

“ _ Are you ok? _ ” Horns which curved backwards appeared on Human Jim’s head. “ _ Do you want to sit down? _ ” His skin became a stony blue, and he suddenly was donned in black and red armor as he reached out to Blinky, who’s hand unexpectedly started to become transparent. 

Jim, who began to feel weightless, watched as the other Blinky coming towards him began to dematerialize, morphing into phantom like apparition. He used all his remaining strength to bring himself back towards Blinky, as the darkness closed in on them, once final time enveloping them in a fathomless murk, forcing them under, with the last thing they say being the distinct eyes of their reverse selves.

And just like before, canonverse Blinky and Jim’s seemed to pause, as reality restored itself, back to where it had started, with ash now covering their hands. 

In the meanwhile, Jim and Blinky found themselves trapped the place between universes, being thrown about and feeling their minds unraveling at a voracious pace. Multitudes of images of other worlds flashed before them, as electric strings of gold and blue danced around them, stemming from an unknown high, sending them off in tangented directions across the multiverse. 

_ A world where marching band music saturated their small town. A world where amulets come together in iriscendent harmony. A world where trolls appeared only as gruesome creatures, yet were as kind as they are now.  _

Blinky felt a searing burn in his eyes, as his body continued to shudder uncontrollably. The fabrics of his clothing seemed to be melding into his skin, his mind travelling somewhere, yet nowhere at once.

_ A world where trolls could walk freely in the sun. A world where spent all his time in oceanic trenches beneath the surface. A world where the Janus Order had member with a predestined fate. _

As these worlds flashed before his eyes, Jim felt like a thousand voices screamed into his ear, and a million hands grasping onto his feathers, tearing them from his arms.

_ The unrelenting destiny of an unforeseen hero. An unexpected death of a friend. The rising and return of an ancient enemy. Taking care of the threat by doing whatever it takes, even if the method was unconventional, came out of nowhere, and wasn’t needlessly complex. _

No matter how hard they tried to look away, the more they saw. Every perspective, every possible outcome, flashing before them like pictures on a screen, and yet being internalized at intense amounts at once. 

A prominent, booming, raspy voice came over the chaos, as everything ceased into nothingness, and the two felt their soul recede into the void before they could say anything, or reach out to each other.

  
“ _ DO YOU SEE IT NOW? _ ”


End file.
